A few weeks ago Jessica Ney-Grimm invited authors to submit stories to an anthology - a real indie zoo! [I'm sure it was on Writers' Cafe, but I cannot find the topic].

Anyway, Jessica and D. J. Gelner took on the task of editing the anthology as well as contributing stories.

Now the good news - the anthology - titled Quantum Zoo, is to be released early June. And one of my short stories was accepted. [Yay!!] Quantum Zoo will be released initially as an ebook, and then as a POD/paperback. The blurb - From a ghost park to a time-travel penitentiary of historical murderers to a menagerie of Egyptian deities, Quantum Zoo presents 12 compelling stories involving 12 very different living exhibitions.

The concept that Jessica and DJ put together is interesting for Indies - it is an example of how we can work - almost cooperatively - to get more exposure and build our brands.

As I said, the concept is interesting for Indies - the successful authors get exposure, listings on multiple web site/s, and mention on various social sites. Proceeds - of course there will be proceeds! - will be used for marketing the anthology. If the book sells, we'll get extra marketing.

And we don't lose the copyright to our work.

I would expect to see similar efforts in future, as Indies work together to build their brands.

« Last Edit: June 17, 2014, 02:10:16 PM by JohnHindmarsh »

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Writing Diamond Cut - final book in the Glass Complex trilogy. New covers on the way.John Hindmarsh | Web Site

Sounds like an interesting project. These collaborations are one of the best aspects of the self-publishing industry. Could you tell us about your specific contribution to the anthology?

Hi Malcolm,

I experimented - I wrote a story that was entirely of one person [an alien] speaking - a monologue, but dialogue, if that makes sense? It is a mini-Aliens, I suppose. It introduces a species - the Xergs - banned by GalFed from leaving their home planet - and occasionally one does leave. The story scared my wife, so I think it is effective.

And you're correct - this is an excellent way for Indies to work together.

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Writing Diamond Cut - final book in the Glass Complex trilogy. New covers on the way.John Hindmarsh | Web Site

Sounds very interesting John! What was your inspiration? How well do you expect an anthology to do in today's market?

Malcolm - two interesting questions - I'll try to get Jessica or DJ to comment on the market potential and also re their inspiration for the anthology. It was their idea, and it appealed to me as a way to expand my brand. Also, it sounded like it would be fun, and that's what writing is all about - in the sense of - if you're not enjoying it, stop doing it. [Separate topic - also that's why I wrote a story for Mark Capell's Fogland project].

Inspiration for the story is a different question of course - not sure where I get those from - I think I have a muse who drops an idea into my brain and then kicks my butt until I write... It gets painful after a while.

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Writing Diamond Cut - final book in the Glass Complex trilogy. New covers on the way.John Hindmarsh | Web Site

Sounds very interesting John! What was your inspiration? How well do you expect an anthology to do in today's market?

Hi Malcolm,

Thanks for your kind words about Quantum Zoo! I know all of us are very excited for its pending release.

Jessica and I got to know each other through an online writing group. I think both of us admired the work of the other (at least I HOPE that's the case on Jessica's end ), and we've been bouncing ideas off of one another w/r/t increasing the visibility of like-minded indie authors for a while now.

One of those ideas was for an anthology, but with a twist: all of the proceeds up to a certain threshold will be spent on testing out new marketing ideas. We know there's a lot of spotty information out there about what works and what doesn't for marketing for indie authors, outside of the obvious "write more books" that always seems to be the key.

By collecting a dozen or so top-notch stories into a single anthology, we thought we could "cross-pollinate" everyone else's audiences. Additionally, we could try a bunch of different marketing strategies, and see what works and what doesn't, and report back to the group (and the larger indie community) accordingly.

So we just decided to go for it! The inspiration for the "Zoo" prompt came through several brainstorming sessions; we wanted a prompt that would be fun to write about, had a broad range of applications, and would work equally well for both sci-fi and fantasy authors.

We got a mention on The Passive Voice, and were overwhelmed by the resulting submissions, both in quantity and quality! In the end, we decided on a dozen of the very best ones (including John's--I can see why his story scared his wife!), and have spent the past few months collaborating with the authors on revisions and polishing the stories up, in addition to the really fun stuff like drawing up contracts and coming up with a marketing plan.

As for how well we think the anthology will do, I think we're both realistic and optimistic. These stories speak for themselves--they're all fantastic. I'm proud to have my story listed alongside every other one in the anthology. We're initially going to spread the word via social media (to our own audiences), as well as guest posts and reviews where we can get them. Some folks are going to conferences and will be spreading the word there. Once we've started to pool each others' audiences, then we can start the fun stuff--playing around with paid ads, viral marketing, etc.

Which leads me to another point: if there's any kind of paid advertising or marketing concepts that you think would take some cash to get off the ground, but you haven't wanted to try for whatever reason as of yet, we'd be happy to test them and let you know what works and what doesn't. Quantum Zoo is all about pooling stuff: talents, audiences, resources, and (yes) knowledge. We'd be remiss if we didn't give back to the community that's given us all so much already!

Whew--that's a lot! Needless to say, Jessica and I (and everyone else) are extremely excited for the release of the anthology! Check out the links John posted above for more info, and I'm happy to drop by and answer any questions as they arise. Thanks again!

I would be interested to learn of your successes and failures with marketing, as I'm sure most other Indie authors will be. I hope you'll be forthcoming with your data and observations here on the KBoards and in other forums. It seems you have not only created a genuine product, but that you are taking steps to reach success.

In the past, I've used BookBub, the Fussy Librarian, and blog tours with varying levels of success with another pen name. I'd be curious to see your results with an anthology project and a group of contributing authors and marketing agents. Good luck!

Alright, so I'm part of this anthology as well. Are we going to be setting up a blog tour at all? Or Book Bub? Is there an overall plan with marketing? I'm curious to see how each component will play out (so then I can use the data to set up future marketing for my other titles...) Is there anything I can do to help?

Can we get a Facebook group of the authors so we can have access to each other's marketing attempts? Can we choose a hashtag on Twitter and then tweet the sh** out of it? Will there be free promotion days or discount days?

Also, how did I end up in the company of such seriously great authors? When I googled you all and found your titles, I was a little blown away. Too cool!

When I first read about the anthology on The Passive Voice, I noted that, though we were to use the word "Zoo" as a prompt, it didn't necessarily have to be about a ZOO.

I had started a story many years ago (in the 1990's actually) that I called THE ZOO PLANET. But I only got about a page and a half into it. I don't remember if I stopped because I didn't know where I was going with it, or if I got tied up in other things, or if I just lost interest in it. Anyway, over the years I'd pulled it out and read it several times, thinking it wasn't a bad start.

When I saw the post on Passive Voice, I thought of the story, and somehow the prompt gave me some direction and it came out quickly. In my story, Earth has become a wildlife preserve where rich off-worlders get to experience a smorgasbord of exotic (to them) life. But something's happening that needs to be investigated, and Jordem Lun is the person chosen to investigate.

It was a lot of fun to write, and I learned a lot during the editing process. Can't wait to see it in print!

R.S. were you interviewed on a blog recently? Maybe Philip's? Because I'm sure I saw an interview with you about your book somewhere and thought it looked really cool. If that's true, it's a very small world!

And hello, Kboards. I have resisted your charms thus far, but have been prompted to join by John.

Hi, all. I'm another of the authors in Quantum Zoo, and I'm really looking forward to seeing the response from readers. Most of my work has been in novel form or longer, so it's exciting to send a short story out into the world.

My story is set on a multigenerational space ship en route to another planet, fleeing a dead/dying earth. I resisted the temptation to name the protagonist Noah.

Hey guys! Here's the link for the Facebook event. Feel free to join in so I can make you all admins. You'll be able to invite your audience. Please also PM me so we can chat privately about setting up the event!

Betsy has a cattle prod she applies with great abandon if anyone breaks the forum rules. I think it's rated at 25,000 volts.

LOL! I was pretty sure I'd seen covers posted when I was lurking, so I wasn't concerned so much about rule-breaking. I just wasn't certain I could figure out how to upload the image! And, indeed, I couldn't. Had to google first and follow the instructions I found.

Use Link-Maker to include Amazon links (pictures or text) in your post!

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